how deep to back the trailer in

Going to hopefully get my new 02 X-star in the water this weekend. I've loaded my aluminum fishing boat and I/O boats many times. I've been told that with the inboards that you don't back in nearly as far and that the boat has to be driven on the trailer. How do I know how far to back it in? With my outboard fishing boat I usually back it in until the front of the bunks are just sticking out of the water about a foot. I know it probably depends somewhat on the depth of the landing too, but is there any general rule of thumb on how far to back in. Also I've read that the Inboards don't like to back up straight and that when backing off the trailer I should turn the wheel all the way to the left and it will actually back off fairly straight. Is this correct?

Heres What we do with out 01 SAN. We back the trailer down into the water until the bunks have been wetted. We then pull it foward until the water is barely over the tires of the trailer.. or if the waters deep and someones in the boat you can normally feel it float up off the trailer. We then loosen the hook holding the boat on the trailer a couple kinks and let the boat slowly slide down a couple seconds then start it up. Make sure the boat starts up before you fully unlatch it from the trailer.. [my friends and i had a nightmare of a time when we forgot that rule of thumb and unlatched it and the engine died and the wind pushed us off the trailer. It was a long long long morning. ] Once you have the boat started unlatch it and reel the hook back in, depending on the ramp your baot should slide straight off the trailer and straight down into the water.. you can always have the driver of the tow vehicle back it in a little more and then pull forward to give it a little momentum. Ease the throttle back till you feel the engine take hold and the boat should back up fine.

INboards don't back up in straight lines because of prop rotation i believe. Theres also no way for our boat to counter this pull to the left. (our boat backs up to the left) so turning the steering wheel wont help.

What i've found is that the boat will slide back straight into the water without help, but if it does need help only use the throttle sparingly.. Once it gets moving backwards the boat wont stop until you put it in gear forwards. So just go with the flow.

I have the same boat and what works for me is the front of the fenders (tandem axel) about 2-3 inches underwater approxiamtely. This will set you on the trailer somewhat and then gently power into the bow buddy.

it will depend on the ramp so just watch the boat and when it lifts off the trailer a bit you're good to go. "normal" for mine is to just have the tops of the fenders sticking out, and the backing thing is not such a big deal at launch unless you have currents or wind then there are certain backing manuevers that just won't happen but it will back straight off the trailer...go out and try backing up different directions, it takes a little getting used to but it rarely is ever a "problem"...its one of those things you need to know so you dont get into a tight situation that you can't back out of...in a marina or docking situation

Each boat is different and so is each ramp. Be cautious if you are at a new ramp and have not figured the appropriate trailer depth. Take it easy when loading the boat, the angle of to the trailer/ramp to the water can cause the nose of the boat to dip under bow guide.

Back it in till it floats. You don't have to drive them off the trailer. Putting the boat back on, I would just barely submerge the finder wells, and you should be able to slide it right into the grove.

Till it floats did not always work for my Malibu or Supreme because of the front roller height and angle of the ramp. Deep till it floats would sometimes cause the bow to hit the roller although just covering the fender was usually very close. Its different for each setup.

Back it in until the rear floats, is what I meant. If you leave the stap on, you should have no problems with the front. It will stay put.

(Message edited by psudy on April 20, 2007)

Like Paul says, when unloading a good rule of thump is to back in until the fender wells of your trailer are submerged.

Another quick tip is if the ramp angles from side to side. As the boat and trailer seperate you will have a greater chance of hitting the bunks with your prop. This is especially true when loading since when you throttle, the back of the boat will tend to pull to one side. This is why you want to minimize the depth of the trailer. I barely clipped my bunk because a situation like this and it cost me a prop. 2 years of loading and unloading prior to this with no flaws.

I have the same hull on a single axle trailer. The steepness of your ramp dictates how deep I back in. The steeper it is, the sooner the transom will lift enough to power it back.

I usually back till the tires are covered or the fenders are almost covered.

Your boat will back to the right and thats one reason the guide poles are there (well the right one on mine gets rubbed backing out). Of course they help when loading also but not as often.

To load the boat you do not need to back the trailer in as much normally and yes you really need to drive the boat onto the trailer. Idle power is sufficient unless you need to gas it to get her all the way to the stop at the last.

If you you do not drive it on to the trailer and try to coast in the boat will drift on you. Thats when the guide posts can save you.

Go back till the fenders are completely submerged and then pull up so the part of the fender closest to the vehicle is just out of the water.

all ramps are different but most likely just do what Ryan said.